New British player Johanna Konta falls short in marathon Wimbledon clash

Australia-born Briton Johanna Konta has fallen at the first hurdle in her Wimbledon debut after being defeated on the second day of her clash with highly-rated American Christina McHale.

Johanna Konta during her first round match against Christina McHale (Picture: Action Images).

The 21-year-old, who received British citizenship less than a month ago, lost a marathon encounter to US No.2 McHale 6-7 6-2 10-8.Fading light stopped the match last night with the outcome resting on a knife edge at 7-7 in the decider.Konta, the British No.5, did well to keep her serve in the first game played today. But in a crucial game that lasted over ten minutes, McHale broke to take a 9-8 lead.She then saw out the contest despite falling 0-40 down in the last game thanks to an unforced error by the Brit at match-point.Konta’s spirited performance will please the LTA, who worked hard to ensure her paperwork came through in time to qualify her for Wimbledon.McHale will face Mathilde Johansson of France in the next round.